Perforated plate convective heat transfer analysis

The need for high performance heat exchangers has led to the development of many types of surfaces that enhance the rate of heat transfer. One of the heat exchanger types are the matrix heat exchangers. Matrix heat exchangers consist of a series of perforated plates, separated by a series of spacers. The present study experimentally investigates the overall heat transfer characteristics of flow through a perforated plate with 2 mm in diameter, the hole length to diameter ratio of 1 and 25.6% porosity. Numerical simulations were performed to determine the overall heat transfer in the function of geometric parameters. Reynolds numbers based on the perforated plate pitch were set in the range from 50 to 500. The results of the average Nusselt number prediction were compared with the related experimental correlations. The experimental data agreed on qualitatively with the results obtained using a CFD. Using these data, a Nusselt criterial equation was obtained.